


Distractions

by Nlexe



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Future, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 21:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14481435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nlexe/pseuds/Nlexe
Summary: “Sheet masks, Kageyama!”Kageyama settled for an exasperated glare and an incredulous. “What?”





	Distractions

     Two hands shot out from underneath the pile of blankets, clawing to grab and pull the outermost blanket layer back down. The blanket-thief yelped, promptly letting go of the blanket. With the top blanket no longer being pulled away, the hands managed to yank it back down, disappearing underneath the makeshift cocoon once more.

     “Dammit, Yachi! When was the last time you cut your nails?”

     Kageyama held his scratched hand in the other as he stared down at the cocoon of blankets on the couch. A moment passed. Slowly, the blankets started to shift and those same two hands wormed their way out of the layers. There was a few more seconds of shuffling as Kageyama watched as those hands peeled back and rearranged the blankets so now that the face of their owner was visible as well.

     Scowling, Kageyama thrust his injured hand to Yachi. Her nails had clipped one of his fingers right above the cuticle. It really wasn’t too bad, but considering that a little bit of blood was starting to appear, and that Kageyama took the state of his hands very seriously, guilt seeped into Yachi’s chest. She sat up, careful to keep the blankets still swaddled around her. She pulled the one around her shoulders tighter, causing it to slink off her head.

     “Sorry,” she mumbled. Kageyama huffed, rolling his eyes slightly.

     “Yeah.”

     “Here, I’ll patch it up for you,” Yachi offered without her trademark vigor. Reluctantly, she moved to detangle herself from all the blankets and get up to retrieve the bandages from the bathroom but Kageyama held up a hand, rolling his eyes.

     “No, I’ll get it. But you’re fixin’ this shit.”

     Yachi hummed. She settled back into her blankets, patiently waiting for Kageyama to come back with bandages and disinfectant from the bathroom. Soon enough he returned back to the living room, tossing a box of bandages, a few cotton balls, and a small bottle of disinfectant onto the couch. He plopped himself on the couch next to her, resting the offended hand on what would have been her knee had there not been a mountain of blankets on top of it.

     Neither said anything while Yachi delicately cleaned Kageyama’s finger and wrapped a bandage around it. Her movements were careful, but she got slower as her mind wandered and the weight in her chest became heavy again. She blinked, letting go of Kageyama and helping him put everything on the coffee table. Yachi leaned back and sank into the bundle of blankets once more, steadfastly ignoring the look Kageyama was giving her. She rested her head against the back of the couch. Her eyes traced the criss-cross pattern of the couch fabric.

     A couple of minutes went by. Yachi sighed inaudibly, her eyes never leaving the couch. She knew why he was here. Maybe not specifically why, but there was only one reason why he’d be acting like this right now.

     “I’m—I…,” she closed her eyes, biting back another sigh. “I’m just… sad.”

     “I know.”

     Both fell silent again. Kageyama settled himself to lean his side against the back of the couch, mimicking Yachi. His large frame on her tiny couch looked as ridiculous as he felt but he ignored it. Kageyama just looked at her, not needing or wanting her to say anything but observing all the same. Everything about her just seemed… dull. He looked at her and while he didn’t like what he saw, he couldn’t say he wasn’t glad. Because while her eyes were still downcast, the subtle glow in them extinguished, and her hair was frizzy and unkempt, undoubtedly from the blankets she’d sealed herself off in, Yachi was fairing better today than she had been for a while now.

     “Here,” Kageyama said uncharacteristically softly, the way he always was at times like these. His voice still carried a lilt of demand—it would never not—but it belied the gentle way in which he grabbed Yachi’s hand. He took out a file out from his pocket—the sight of it pulling out a breathy laugh from Yachi—and began to file her nails.

     Yachi resisted the urge to yank back her hand. Her mother always cut her nails when she’d caught sight of how bad their condition was. She never really noticed or cared how long her toenails got or how uneven her fingernails were. But her mother always did. And Yachi had not forgotten how the clippers would nip her skin or how the nail file sent uncomfortable shock waves up her arm.

     But she had scratched Kageyama, who prized his hands because of his setter position, so she let him. Thankfully, Kageyama was practically a professional and the file didn’t send her backing up and off the couch. Plus, while Kageyama was a good friend—it’d taken a bit, to be fair, but not from lack of effort or sincerity on his part—it was still difficult for him to express himself so Yachi knew that whenever he insisted on performing random tasks such as this, it was important. She knew how getting to do things like filing her nails made him feel. It made her feel cared for, as well. She sat up a bit more, tucking in her legs.

     “You were the one to break up with her, ya know,” Kageyama said, pulling Yachi out of her thoughts.

     “I know,” she breathed out. Kageyama’s eyes shot up to look at Yachi’s. He looked at her briefly before switching hands and filing once more.

     “You did the right thing.”

     “I know,” Yachi repeated. The weight in her chest returned. “I just… I don’t know. I’m still sad over it. And it’s not goin’ away.”

     Kageyama hummed, “You’re holding onto this too much.”

     “I do that, don’t I?” Yachi mused forlornly. Kageyama looked up at her from underneath his lashes. She reluctantly met his gaze, bracing herself against his inevitable ‘I-told-you-so.’ Which he did do, in a way.

     “Yeah, you do,” he affirmed. And, as if to punctuate his statement, he let go of her hand, letting it unceremoniously drop to the blankets.

     Yachi held her hands up, inspecting them. All her nails were neat and equal length. He’d filed them into oval shapes, making her hands look far more put together than she was. She flipped her hands around and curled her fingers into the palms before tucking them in her lap.

     “Thanks,” she said. She briefly paused. “Tobio.”

     Kageyama sputtered. His eyes widened slightly before narrowing. He glared at her and shoved her knee—or what he thought was her knee, it could’ve easily been her foot for all the blankets were still piled on top of her—with his hand. Yachi laughed as Kageyama grumbled to himself, petulantly crossing his arms loosely around his torso. When Yachi’s laughter died down a bit, she noticed Kageyama fighting back a small grin.

     It hadn’t been much, but it had lightened Yachi’s mood. That was the thing with Kageyama: it never had to be—never was—too much, and yet it made all the difference. Maybe it was because they’d been friends for a long time now? Or maybe it was because it was Kageyama? It probably didn’t matter which it was.

     Suddenly, Yachi’s phone on the coffee table began vibrating with a call. The good mood was broken. Yachi stared at the phone until the call ended. Not a minute passed by until the screen lit up again with a text. Yachi felt anxiety bloom in her chest, but found herself snatching the phone up anyway. She already knew who it was yet she braced herself anyway. She wasn’t going to read the message, at least right now, but she’d only read the first two words before the phone was snatched out of her hand. If Kageyama didn’t have perfect aim and depth perception Yachi would have killed him for the way he carelessly threw her phone across the room. It landed inside the laundry bag across the room, disappearing from view as it sank beneath her unwashed shirts and underwear.

     “You still didn’t block her number?” Kageyama started, whipping back to look at Yachi.

     “It’s not that serious, Kags,” Yachi replied, rolling her eyes.

     “Well—Well maybe, but still. It's shit to see her name on your phone all the damn time and to have to see all the messages she sent you.”

     “I know, I know. Just—can we not talk about this?”

     "You don't have to block her forever," Kageyama pressed. "But do it for now. Avoid her."

     "I'm not trying to avoid my problems all the damn time, Kageyama."

     "That's not—Ugh, you're being stupid!"

     Yachi made a frustrated noise and closed her eyes, letting her head fall against the couch again. The fabric scratched her cheek uncomfortably but she was already committed to becoming a sack of sadness again. Her whole body felt tired and weighed down; the way it had been feeling since the third day of the break up. Since it finally hit her. Inwardly she dared Kageyama to say something again, the confidence of her mind not matching up with the tear slipping down her cheek.

     She felt Kageyama shift. His knee was now resting next to her knees and the weight was equally parts grounding and reassuring. He stayed silent, though Yachi could tell he wanted to yell and scold her. He was still mad. But she just wasn’t in the mood. Especially since she knew what he wanted to say—what he had been saying for a week now—wasn’t wrong. But it seemed like he realized how upset she really was and was swallowing whatever words he had for her. Yachi opened her eyes, studying Kageyama before breaking the silence. Her voice low and tired.

     “Hey, Tobio… what d’you do when you’re upset? Like, what makes you feel better when you’re upset?”

     He didn’t even think. “Volleyball.”

     Yachi groaned, shutting her eyes. If this was any other time then she would've felt fond, but right now she was just annoyed. Annoyed and frustrated. Annoyed and frustrated and sad.

     “What?” Kageyama snapped. “If you don’t like my answer, then don’t ask!”

     “Kageyama,” Yachi stressed, opening her eyes. “I mean when you’re like, really just… fucking sad. What do you do then? What if volleyball isn’t enough? Or what if volleyball is the reason you’re sad? What do you do then?”

     Kageyama stared at Yachi. He focused his gaze down at the blankets pooled around his knee, his eyebrows pinching together.

     “Please,” she implored. “I’ve never felt like this before. I’ve never had to deal with something like this before. I don’t know what to do.”

     “And you think _I do_?”

     “Kinda? Just… please?”

     Yachi knew going to Kageyama for something like this was... well it wasn't something that anyone who knew him would advise. It's not like she didn't think this was the best idea. But he was her best friend. And furthermore, he had dealt with loss more than her. Much more than her. And she had never experienced something of this magnitude, while he had. Of course that was when he was younger and he didn't handle it well afterwards, but he was still able to pick himself up and move on. And later he had begun to _actually_  heal. That had to count for something.

     “I… don’t really know. Never really thought about it,” he mumbled, avoiding Yachi’s gaze.

     “Can you try? For me?”

     Kageyama harrumphed, but conceded. “I—I don’t fucking know, okay? If somethin’ shitty’s happening I go play volleyball. Volleyball is the best; it helps me think. Or forget. I don’t fuckin’ know.”

     “But what if it doesn’t? Or what if it’s the reason why things are shitty?” _I'll bring up Kiitagawa if I have to. Don't make me have to. For once don't be difficult._

     “Then… Then I go buy my favorite kind of milk, the one with the giraffe on the front. I don't get it a lot, it’s expensive, but… yeah. A-and if that doesn’t work I go watch volleyball videos, or go for a run, or something.”

     “So you just… distract yourself… ?”

     Kageyama shrugged, though it was barely noticeable. His face pinched together. He squirmed under Yachi's scrutiny, knowing she was merely confused and not mocking him, though he was uncomfortable all the same. He was out of his league on this one. And worst of all he felt hideously exposed. He knew what his friends were like, what Yachi was like. He'd had to deal with them poking and prodding him until they got him to talk a good number of times. He knew that; didn't mean he ever got used to it, though, or liked it.

     “I guess? I dunno I just do what I like. ‘Cause even if shit sucks, sometimes just a little thing can make me forget about it? Or makes things not so shitty for a little bit? I don't know. I don't really like to... I like to get away from 'it' for awhile. Volleyball does that for me. And some other stuff helps, too. But... yeah. It just makes it, I dunno, easier to deal with later.”

     Kageyama scratched his neck. He chanced a look at Yachi, praying his answer didn’t make him seem even dumber and more awkward than he already felt. He was annoyed she asked him something like that, but he was even more annoyed he couldn’t answer it. But Yachi merely gave him a small, grateful smile.

     “That’s... actually a really good idea.”

     “Huh?”

     "Distracting yourself, and removing yourself from... from whatever's the problem. For a while. It's a good idea."

     Kageyama shrugged, looking off to the side. His cheeks were a light, dusty pink. Yachi laughed softly to herself; Kageyama was never good at accepting praise. Worse than he was at giving it. Still chuckling, she stood up, disentangling herself from the blankets. Figuring now was as good as a time as any, she grabbed the disinfectant, the discarded cotton balls, and bandage wrappers from the coffee table and made her way to the bathroom.

     In the bathroom Yachi put the disinfectant back in the cabinet and threw out the rest. Kageyama hated talking about things and staunchly ignored or avoided said problems. But, Yachi mused, maybe it wasn't all that bad of an idea. To a point, though. To a point. She was putting the disinfectant away when she noticed things out of place. Kageyama must have had to move a few things to find what he was looking for earlier and in doing so he’d unearthed a few sheet masks that Shimizu had given to Yachi on her birthday. A memory played in her mind. And then another, and another. And then she heard Kageyama's voice. Yachi’s eyes lit up.

     “Kageyama!”

     In hindsight, Yachi realized she probably shouldn’t have screamed so loudly if Kageyama’s footfalls and his wide eyes as he practically fell into the door jamb was of any indication. But she couldn’t help it. What he'd said had actually made _sense_. She wasn't going to waste this opportunity. She turned to him, grinning as she held up the small stack of sheet masks in both hands.

     “Holy shit, don’t do that—”

     “Sheet masks, Kageyama!”

     Kageyama settled for an exasperated glare and an incredulous. “What?”

     “Sheet masks. Remember for my birthday Shimizu got me some sheet masks? You probably don’t but she did and I found them but that’s not the point. Well, it is, but the point is what you said earlier? About doing fun stuff, things that make you feel happy? Well, when you guys went to training camps and nationals Shimizu always brought some along and we’d have little spa nights in the baths. And then when the third years retired, I kept up the tradition with the other teams' managers and then with my juniors during the season. That was always so fun. I have a lot of good memories from those times,” she smiled, looking at the sheet masks in her hands.

     “You’re right, I don’t remember,” he said. Yachi rolled her eyes but kept grinning at the masks in her hand. He continued. “So… um, sheet masks?”

     “Sheet masks,” she affirmed. Kageyama looked terribly lost and confused. Normally Yachi would’ve reveled in it for a little longer, teased Kageyama even, but right now her mind was already set on one thing.

     “We’re gonna do a sheet mask, Kageyama.”

     Kageyama just stared. Yachi was setting out the masks on the counter and she looked the happiest she had in over a week but he was just _so lost_. She beckoned him towards her. When he reached her side she grabbed his elbow, yanking him down somewhat.

     “Pick one!” She said, using her other hand to point at the various kinds laid out.

     “Uh, uhh….” Kageyama’s eyes flittered between them. He shook his head, standing up straight. “What the hell, Yachi! What is all this?”

     “Sheet masks, Kageyama,” Yachi admonished. “Now, pick one.”

     “What the hell are sheet masks?”

     Yachi sighed, rolling her eyes as she did so. “Sheet masks are for your face. They can have specific functions, like anti-wrinkle and blemish clearing, but they basically are all moisturizing and soothing. Some people do ‘em all the time, some don’t. They give your skin a little boost, ya know? They’re fun and make you feel relaxed and expensive-ish.”

     “Uh okay, so you do one.”

     “I will, duh. Now, pick one already!”

     “But don’t—don’t girls do this stuff?”

     “Guys do it, too. But yeah, generally girls do it, I guess.”

     Kageyama could feel her excitement wilting. He was better at reading people now but he still felt like he was back at square one a lot of the time. The whole reason he came over today was to find out what was going on. And what was going on, he learned, was that she was still sad. And here she was, getting even sadder because his ass had to be so stubborn and combative. He watched as Yachi’s shoulders drooped and how she let go of his elbow. He scrambled.

     “Uh, uh,” his eyes roamed over the options she laid out before hastily snatching one up. “This one. I want this one. It’s good, right? It’s got an, uh, a picture of an egg on it, so that’s good right? Eggs are good for you, so it should be good for the face, too. Right?”

     Yachi looked at the one clutched in Kageyama’s hands. “You would choose the egg one,” she said, smiling somewhat sardonically to herself. But when Kageyama yanked it away from her and barked for her choose one, and to _not copy his choice I swear you're just as bad as Hinata_ , she smiled genuinely.

 

 

     After a harrowing ten minutes in the bathroom, both Yachi and Kageyama were back in the living room and reclining on the couch. First it’d been a pain to get him to wash his face because of course he didn’t know why he’d have to do that, or even what that meant. She’d finally got him to wipe his face with a cleansing toner. And then the real hell had begun when he opened the mask. It’d been a struggle getting Kageyama to deal with the slimy texture of the mask, let alone unfolding it and putting it on his face. He nearly dropped the damn thing straight into the toilet at one point. But he seemed to actually be enjoying it now. Though it was still a bit hard to read him. She hoped he wasn’t at least hating it.

     “So, how you doin’ over there?” Yachi goaded, fighting a smile creeping onto her face.

     “It’s not the worst thing ever. I guess. Maybe.”

     “You’re having the time of your life, got it,” Yachi grinned. She brought her hand to her face to fix the mask.

     “It’s slimy,” Kageyama grumbled petulantly.

     “Yeah, but it’s good for your skin.”

     Kageyama hummed and fell silent again. Yachi lolled her head to look at him. His eyes were still closed. _He’s such a liar,_ she thought to herself. She was still staring at his profile when her thoughts led her back to him barging into her apartment earlier—she really regretted giving him a key at that moment, he scared her half to death—and attempting to drag her out of her blanket cocoon.

     “Hey, Kags? Why’d you come over today? Like, I know why but…” She let herself trail off. Kageyama still didn’t open his eyes.

     “Sh-shut up do I need a reason?” He bit out defensively.

     “No, sorry,” she meekly replied.

     Kageyama accepted her apology with a noncommittal noise. “‘Kay, now shut up. I’m relaxing.”

     “Oho, so you finally admit it; you like this.”

     “Don’t talk like that, y’sound like Kuroo," he said. Kageyama opened his eyes and turned to glare at her.

     “I’ll sound however I want.”

     “Sound like yourself, dummy,” he snapped.

     “What? Don’t I sound like myself?”

     “Yeah, now you do,” Kageyama said seriously.

     Yachi blinked, furrowing her brows as much as she could without disturbing the mask. “I do?”

     “Y’sound happy.”

     They both stared at each other. The reminder of what Yachi lost over a week ago still there, though not as oppressive as it once was. Her expression turned thoughtful.

     “I guess I am. At least right now I am. I think.”

     Kageyama nodded. “You should do these then, if they make you feel happy. Even if for a little bit, or whatever.”

     “Yeah, maybe I will. I’ll feel better day by day, one sheet mask at a time.”

     Kageyama’s expression turned concerned, or, as concerned as one can look in a sheet mask. “That’s a lot of masks, though. Won’t that be expensive?”

     “It’s a small price to pay, dontcha think? Sheet masks are good for the soul, Tobio,” Yachi drawled.

     “I thought they were good for the face?”

     Yachi figured sheet masking for the day was a lost cause at this point. For her, at least. She couldn’t stop grinning and the mask wasn’t staying flat on her face. But that was okay, she thought as Kageyama yelled indignantly, his glare lost beneath the sheet mask. She watched as Kageyama kept smoothing out the mask while trying to swatting at her at the same time. Yeah, she was going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Alternatively titled, "This was only supposed to be a fucking drabble."
> 
> I wrote this all in one afternoon. Today's afternoon, actually, so I'll probably be coming back and editing it up over the next week or so.
> 
> I got hit by the heart-wrenchingly cute scene of Kageyama getting roped into sheet masking by Yachi and it was absolutely necessary for me to drop everything and write it.
> 
> I love Kageyama and Yachi's friendship. I really think they'd be such a good pair and apparently I have a thing for emotionally inept Kageyama comforting a broken hearted Yachi? And it's always clumsy but helpful? And that makes it all the more endearing?


End file.
